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[Tokusatsu] Invisible Ghosts & Colorfuly Loud Ninjas (Kamen Rider Gemn Sequel!)

OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
edited July 2022 in Social Entropy++
What's Tokusatsu?
Wikipedia wrote:
Tokusatsu (特撮) is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that features considerable use of special effects (tokusatsu literally translates as "special filming" in Japanese).

Tokusatsu entertainment often deals with science fiction, fantasy or horror, but movies and television shows in other genres can sometimes count as tokusatsu as well. The most popular types of tokusatsu include kaiju monster movies like the Godzilla and Gamera film series; superhero TV serials such as the Kamen Rider and Metal Hero series; and mecha dramas like Giant Robo. Some tokusatsu television programs combine several of these subgenres, for example the Ultraman and Super Sentai series. Tokusatsu is one of the most popular forms of Japanese entertainment, but most tokusatsu movies and television programs are not widely known outside Asia.

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So this is tokuastsu.

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And this is tokuastsu.

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Even this is tokuastsu.

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However, this is what most fans know today as tokuastsu or just 'toku' for short; Kamen Rider, Super Sentai and Metal Heroes.

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Kamen Rider started out first in 1971 and the group of shows lasting from that time till 1989 (the heroes from then referred to as the Showa Riders) mostly involved regular guys getting turned into cyborgs due to evil COBRA-esque organizations hellbent on taking over the world. Only the Riders with their super-charged motorcycles could stop them and the various monsters of the week from getting their way. In 2000, Kamen Rider began anew. Unlike the Showa Riders, these 'Heisei Riders' had pretty much no connection to each other and only met in non-canon material. They still kept the trait however of their powers (non-cybernetic this time) having connections to the very evil they were trying to face. This lasted until about 2009 in which the movies of the series Kamen Rider Decade began to connect both eras together canonically and the following shows afterwards (dubbed by some as the 'neo-Heisei' era) can be said to share the same universe, something promoted by the Movie Wars crossover films.

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The current series at the moment is Kamen Rider Ghost. The titular Kamen Rider this time around is Takeru Tenkuji, a young man whose father was a famous ghost hunter who was killed mysteriously ten years back. On the same day that people in the same district of his family's temple are attacked by unseen assailants, Takeru receives a mysterious object sent to him by his father prior to his death, an eye-shaped item called an Eyecon.

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As it turns out, the attacks are connected to the Eyecon, caused by ghost-like creatures called the Ganma who were sent to find it and take out anyone in the way. The Ganma can only be seen if someone has an Eyecon, so Takeru leads the Ganma away from his friends at the temple, determined to fight them off.

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And promptly gets killed.

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Of course this would be a pretty short series if things ended there. Takeru thus meets a mysterious man in a space beyond the mortal coil who grants him the ability to become a spiritual Kamen Rider once Takeru shows he has a knack to connect with the Eyecons. This power gives Takeru a second chance at life, one he can use to not only fight off the Ganma but also find Eyecons holding the spiritual essence of great historical figures. Not only will using them grant Takeru new abilities, but fifteen of them gathered together can grant him the power to have anything he wants.

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Which is good since Takeru's second life is on a time limit. If he can't find fifteen great Eyecons in 99 days to wish himself back to proper life, he'll die permanently. And with the Ganma looking for them as well for unknown but probably dire reasons, Ghost has his work cut out for him.

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The other major half of modern toku is Super Sentai, AKA the shows Power Rangers gets most of their fighting footage from. Starting in 1975 with Himitsu Sentai Goranger, the various shows within the franchise have grown to offer a more teamwork-based counterpart to the loner Kamen Rider with teams of three to five (with an extra teammate or two joining in later during the series) fighting in helmets and spandex against monsters sent from various evil powers seeking to conquer or destroy the planet, often having to fight the monsters twice as after it's initial defeat, it grows so the group can permanently defeat it with a giant mecha.

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The current group in play at the moment is Shuriken Sentai Ninninger. The series follows a team made up of the grandchildren of Yoshitaka Igasaki AKA the Last Ninja. Decades ago, Yoshi fought off and sealed away Sengoku warlord-turned-demon Gengetsu Kibaoni when he and his demonic forces tried to prematurely return to conquer Japan. However, not all of Kibaoni's Youkai army was locked away with him. A remaining vassal, Kyuemon, steals the tool needed from the Igasaki household to free the army. Now Yoshi's grandchildren must put their lives on hold in order to strengthen their ninja skills and battle the Kibaoni Army Corps as the Shuriken Sentai who don't fight from the shadows, resealing Kibaoni himself before he grows too powerful.

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And if that's not enough reason to give the series a try, be aware that their Sixth Ranger is a Japanese man from America who transforms with a hamburger rather then a sword since his sword already doubles as his guitar. Oh, and his Zord rides around on a bison-themed ATV.

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If you remember VR Troopers or Big Bad Beetleborgs, then you've seen footage from the Metal Heroes franchise, the shows within tending to involve humans or aliens using metal armor to fight villains. While not as big as either Kamen Rider or Super Sentai, it's been making a comeback recently in the last few years based around the first Metal Heroes, the Space Sheriffs. The first, Space Sheriff Gavan, returned for a teamup with the Super Sentai group Gokaiger and then later in his own movie where he passed on the title to a younger heir. Now a pair of movies will be made to install new faces in the other two Space Sheriffs' boots, Sharivan and Shaider.

Is there any toku I may have missed? Feel free to talk about it here alongside what I've already mentioned as well as any American counterparts they have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5mGJMdV9Lw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZNlzmOczy8

Whippy on
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Posts

  • ElaroElaro Apologetic Registered User regular
    I was about to ask mod permission to make this thread, so... Thank you!

    I started watching KR Gaim; I want to get into watching Super Sentai, starting with the pirates. Apparently they're part of the big SuSe continuity; I'm interested in stuff like that.

    Children's rights are human rights.
  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    I've never really sat down and watched any of this stuff, not even Power Rangers. I don't tend to watch a lot of shows so where would a neophyte like myself begin?

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  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    edited May 2014
    Yeah, I really dig Gokaiger. The show handles all the Sentai cameos through it well enough for the most part that you're not left confused about how the teams they swap into for fights work. Plus it helps that unlike their Power Rangers Megaforce counterparts, they really ARE pirates and alien space pirates at that, arriving on Earth to look for a special treasure on the same day that an evil space empire is making a second invasion attempt at since the first one was thwarted by the 34 previous teams, using up their powers temporarily in the process. Ever since Megaforce started it's 'Super Megaforce' second half, comparison videos have been made to show off the differences between events in episodes between them and Gokaiger.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUDVS4csYI4
    Darmak wrote: »
    I've never really sat down and watched any of this stuff, not even Power Rangers. I don't tend to watch a lot of shows so where would a neophyte like myself begin?

    Gokaiger's a good way to start off with Super Sentai as it gives you a look at the previous teams like I mentioned with cameos from a member from almost every group if not whole teams showing up again. Kamen Rider Decade works more or less the same way for the Heisei Riders before him but the versions that show up are set in alternate realities so they're not exactly how they were in the show character and plot-wise. Plus it's only 31-32 episodes with the first Movie Wars movie acting as a finale. The series afterwards, Kamen Rider Double works too as the start of the 'shared universe' Rider-shows have been set in, with the main characters working as private detectives handling unusual cases when not coming together as Double.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xxSfvyp97s

    Owenashi on
  • Professor FuzzlesProfessor Fuzzles Not a furry, just sayin' FuzztopiaRegistered User regular
    I am a big fan of the campy original KR and I just started watching Gaim and my God what sweet nonsense it is.

  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    I am a big fan of the campy original KR and I just started watching Gaim and my God what sweet nonsense it is.

    Just wait until it gets real.

  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    Yeah, Gaim comes off of as light and fluffy for the first chapter and then BAM, major plot points knock you on your butt. If you're up for a Rider series that's mostly comedic BTW, Prof, you might wanna check out Kamen Rider Den-O.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUQMwjFlEp0

    It can get serious when it wants to but the main character's actor, Takeru Satoh, really does a great job at acting out being possessed by different folk. Also, it's one of the only few series out of the first 9-10 Heisei Rider shows in which the movies actually matter to the show's canon.

  • StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
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  • JimothyJimothy Not in front of the fox he's with the owlRegistered User regular
    I've been thinking of checking out Gaim for a while now. Mostly because they appear to be fruit-themed Power Rangers and that's just crazy enough that it needs to be witnessed. Also based on that picture, I like the aesthetic.

    How does the tone compare with Gokaiger? That's the only toku I've watched, and I loved it.

  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    edited May 2014
    Like I've said, the tone starts out light like you'd expect from something featuring people wearing armor patterned after fruit and nuts. Then around the episode 10-20 bracket, the lighthearted portions of the show starts to bleed away as the writer pulls out the biggest fan he can find, pulls up a septic truck from Saints Row 2 in front of it and starts firing the truck's cannon at the fan while it's set to 'hurricane'. It still has the occasional laugh and smile but things get a lot more serious then the initial episodes make you believe it will be. Though they do have the occasional hint of what's to come...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrKsfGy3Vgk

    Speaking of Gokaiger though, an interesting fact is that the guy who plays Kaito Kumon (AKA Kamen Rider Baron) was actually considered for the role of Gokaiger's Captain Marvelous but I think he turned down the role.

    Owenashi on
  • Professor FuzzlesProfessor Fuzzles Not a furry, just sayin' FuzztopiaRegistered User regular
    I will check it out thanks. I feel I am probably way to old for these shows but hell I am enjoying them anyway, which is strange as I hated Power rangers so much.

  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    Well the writing helps I think. Power Rangers has had some good adaptations but some of the dialogue can get really insulting to one's intelligence at it's worst, even to kids. Especially when writers think they need to fill every second of action dialogue with chatter that wasn't there in the original version. Like the kids will somehow develop sudden amnesia about the characters' identity if they stay quiet for more then 10 seconds. Makes me worry what they'd do to scenes in Kamen Rider adaptations if they had half the chance. You know, scenes that actually would make the final cut. Doubt ones like the one this screenshot's from would be seen in an American adaptation.

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  • mrmrmrmr nameless protagonist Registered User regular
    In the past year, roughly, my friend and I have been really getting into tokusatsu again (mostly because we had watched Power Rangers and knew of the Japanese genre connection but never really dug into it). We've been just jumping around with him watching more Sentai and me with Kamen Rider. I'm currently watching the first episodes of KR OOO and Blade trying to decide which to devote my time to. These are all so much fun.

    Also, I'd like to mention Garo as a more adult alternative to the colorful shenanigans of Super Sentai or Kamen Rider. I've only watched the first 25 episode series and it was pretty neat. It didn't grab me right away but I'm hoping later series do more with the world it created.
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    Practice Round, my blog where I talk (mostly) about comics.
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  • Lord HomsarLord Homsar Lord of Hammers Registered User regular
    A friend of mine has been telling me to watch Kamen Rider Fourze and Double. On the Super Sentai front my first serious attempt was Shinkenger, though I only made it halfway though. I should probably go back and finish it, and then move on. However, for some reason I REALLY enjoyed Akibaranger.

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  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    Akibaranger was enjoyable even knowing very little about the history of Japanese sentai shows, but apparently there are just tons of in-jokes about the various series in there.

  • mrmrmrmr nameless protagonist Registered User regular
    I loved Kamen Rider Fourze but I would say it is the odd man out of at least the more recent KR series because it is so goofy. It is serious when it needs to be though. It was the first KR series I watched all the way through because everything about it grabbed me right away. Double was also very solid, mostly because I thought the designs for the Riders and their weapons/devices were really cool.

    Practice Round, my blog where I talk (mostly) about comics.
    p4.png
  • RadiusRadius Registered User regular
    Fourze would not work if the actor playing Gentaro hadn't nailed that character.

    But he does and it's amazing. It's also got the benefit for those of us in America of parodying a lot of our high school stereotypes so it's easier to catch up to the weird stuff.

    Everyday we stray further from God's light
    Steam Switch FC: 2799-7909-4852
  • Indie WinterIndie Winter die Krähe Rudi Hurzlmeier (German, b. 1952)Registered User regular
  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    Yeah, that's one of my favorite weapons. It had a great introduction as seen in the video below (which has character spoilers from the 1:30 to 2:00 mark).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRZQTT22RFo

    Then the ToQger crossover showed what else it can do when paired with Gaim's standby weapon.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RII-RtaBwz8

  • ReynoldsReynolds Gone Fishin'Registered User regular
    If you really want to see an 'adult' toku, Garo is probably the way to go. There's bare tits literally within the first five minutes.

    Also, I may have done a two hour tokusatsu panel at a local convention, so there's a chance this thread interests me...

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  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    The song in the box seems appropriate for this week's episode of Gaim.

  • mrmrmrmr nameless protagonist Registered User regular
    First solid look at the 6th ToQger if anyone is interested.
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    Practice Round, my blog where I talk (mostly) about comics.
    p4.png
  • ReynoldsReynolds Gone Fishin'Registered User regular
  • Lord HomsarLord Homsar Lord of Hammers Registered User regular
    I am up to episode 9 of Fourze, digging it so far. It should only take like a week to get thru it, then I think I will rewatch the first half of Shinkenger and actually get through to the end.

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  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    I love Fourze. Has one of the best opening themes for a Rider series.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg02UhvjeiQ

  • MayabirdMayabird Pecking at the keyboardRegistered User regular
    If you're still not quite ready to jump into Gaim, note that the head writer is Gen Urobuchi, whom you may have heard of from such shows as Psycho-Pass, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

    If it seems a little silly at first, stick around a bit. Don't be put off by the first glimpse of the pastry chef.

  • TransporterTransporter Registered User regular
    Wait Gaim's writer is MADOKA'S writer?

    And he wrote a bright and cheery Kamen Rider with silly powers, all so that he could systematically destroy every single perception you might have had coming in, because he is the Terror Master, Lord of the Forever Darknight?

    If the theme wasn't so weird, I would actually give Gaim a shot. Because that sounds amazing.

  • ReynoldsReynolds Gone Fishin'Registered User regular
    Give it a shot anyway?

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  • mrmrmrmr nameless protagonist Registered User regular
    My friend is really loving Gaim and I want to get into that one too, but I'm waiting until it's finished so I can breeze through it without waiting. I really wanna watch the Wizard x Gaim movie though which I might do after I watch the W x OOO movie.

    Practice Round, my blog where I talk (mostly) about comics.
    p4.png
  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    I need to see the Wizard/Gaim Movie Wars movie myself. It's use of the current series of Legend items was a lot more direct I think as seen in the boxed video below.

  • ElaroElaro Apologetic Registered User regular
    It's a weird movie. Like, the first half is resolving stuff in Wizard.

    Children's rights are human rights.
  • InxInx Registered User regular
    If anyone isn't watching GARO, I highly recommend it. Hell, if you dont want to watch GARO, I still recommend watching the fourth episode of the current season. It might be one of the best standalone episodes of toku I've ever seen.

  • CubeWatermelonCubeWatermelon Registered User regular
    YESSsss Let it be known that Gaim is super great. Like, not even ironically kid great. Just, the best.
    It's the first tokusatsu I've watched, but now I'm watching KR Fourze and enjoying that a bunch too. The main character is the best, though the main girl is infuriatingly useless.

    My kids keep trying to get me to watch ToQger (aka Train-face Sentai) but it seems much more "for kids" as opposed to Kamen Rider's "all ages".

    This is a whole exciting new world for meeee

  • InxInx Registered User regular
    Also yes Gaim has been really consistently high quality, kind of reminds me of KR Blade. Double is still my favorite for all time forever but Gaim is a CONTENDER so far.

  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    Elaro wrote: »
    It's a weird movie. Like, the first half is resolving stuff in Wizard.

    That's pretty much how the Movie Wars films work. First part acts as an epilogue to anything that happened in the previous series while the second sets up why the current series' heroes will meet up with said previous show's Riders as well as any other that's making an appearance for the third and final section of the movie.

  • ReynoldsReynolds Gone Fishin'Registered User regular
    From what I remember, sentai is usually aimed at elementary school boys, and Kamen Rider at middle schoolers.

    Pretty Cure is, obviously, aimed at elementary school girls
    and thirty year old men.

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  • ElaroElaro Apologetic Registered User regular
    Reynolds wrote: »
    and dirty year old men.

    Yes, absolutely. But this is veering awful close to anime discussion.

    Children's rights are human rights.
  • ReynoldsReynolds Gone Fishin'Registered User regular
    Pretty Cure is just animated tokusatsu for girls. To get squarely back on topic, though...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywOiHoC2aPY

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  • Professor SnugglesworthProfessor Snugglesworth Registered User regular
    I've never seen a Kamen Rider series before but Gaim is pretty great.

  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    Some scans of Gaim's 'super form' have popped up. Look in the box only if you're too impatient to wait for this Saturday's episode.
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    Created via adding the key made from humanity's Forbidden Fruit to the Kachidoki Lockseed, Gaim can shift from Kachidoki Arms to Kiwami Arms.

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    Kiwami's special ability is allowing Gaim to access the weapons of Arms belonging to both him and the other Riders, including the Sonic Arrow of the Energy Riders. He can even dual-wield two of the same weapon or mix and match as seen above with Baron and Zangetsu's weapons for a stronger fighting potential.

    There's also some scans out for the upcoming movie which shows off the new Riders appearing as well as a few Gaim variations. The scans also have pictures of Gaim's super-form so you might also wanna wait until after Saturday to see these.
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    The villain of the movie is a guy named Kogane who can use the Golden Apple/Fruit Lockseed to transform into Kamen Rider Mars/Malus. His goals aren't 100% clear right now or if his Lockseed has anything to do with Helheim's Forbidden Fruits.

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    The guy on the left is Lapis, who can use the Silver Apple/Fruit Lockseed to become Kamen Rider Kamuro. Again, it's unclear what his Lockseed has to do with the Forbidden Fruits but he seems to be on Gaim's side. The movie's plot so far suggests that this movie's set in an alternate continuity but it's possible that said setting's deliberately so as rumors state that Lapis approaches Gaim to confront him about the world he's living in (which has the Beat Rider teams acting as soccer groups rather then dance crews and the Riders using their powers in the games). The figure on the right is 'Dark Gaim' who appears and attacks Ryugen for some reason. It's unclear if this is really Gaim turned temporarily evil or some doppelganger.

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    The movie will also have an established character getting a Driver in the form of Peco, one of Baron's two friends on his dance team. Peco somehow gets his hands on a Genesis Driver and a new Energy Lockseed based on the Pinecone one, letting him become a Shin-version of Kamen Rider Kurokage. Rather then getting a Sonic Arrow like the other Energy Riders, Shin Kurokage sports a modified version of the Kagematsu spear which has a bigger blade on the opposite end.

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    Finally, Gaim will manage to get his hands on the Acorn and Durian Lockseeds during the movie, allowing him to access Gridon's Acorn Arms and Bravo's Durian Arms, complete with access to their weapons.

  • Professor SnugglesworthProfessor Snugglesworth Registered User regular
    Mayabird wrote: »
    If you're still not quite ready to jump into Gaim, note that the head writer is Gen Urobuchi, whom you may have heard of from such shows as Psycho-Pass, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

    If it seems a little silly at first, stick around a bit. Don't be put off by the first glimpse of the pastry chef.

    Mister Dangerous is awesome and damn anyone who says otherwise.

This discussion has been closed.